Bridgewater man convicted of mugging woman in Somerville

SOMERVILLE - A Bridgewater man has been found guilty of second degree robbery, Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano announced.

Victor Rouse, 40, of Sunny Slope Road was found guilty by a Somerset County Jury after a two-day trail and four hours of deliberation.

Soriano said that on October 7, 2009, Rouse approached a woman in an alley off East Main Street in Somerville and asked her for a cigarette. The victim gave him a cigarette, after which Rouse asked her if she had any money. She advised him that she did not have any money. Then the defendant pushed her against the wall and told her he wasn’t asking for money he was telling her to give him her money.

But she got away and flagged down a Somerville police officer and reported the matter to him. About 22 minutes later, police matched Rouse with the victim’s description of her assailant and detained him. Then the victim identified him.

Immediately following the verdict, Rouse’s $75,000 bail was revoked and he was remanded to the county jail. He could be sentenced to as much as 10 years in state prison.